Nothing Changes
by Cinnamaemae
Summary: On that day, the young Bidoof did not make his wish. What followed could only be described as the end of the world. A speculation of what could have been based on the game Pokemon Dungeon Explorers of Sky.


It was on that day that everything changed. The Bidoof that so many underestimated made the choice to not go to Star Cave. This Bidoof never made the wish for a friend to join his guild.

The shy Pokemon who lived on Sharpedo Bluff never found the courage to join Wigglytuff Guild. When the Pokemon's dearest treasure was stolen, they could not muster up the courage to retrieve it. The coward left Treasure Town and never returned.

But what of the treasure? The Relic Fragment fell into the hands of an archaeologist from a far-off continent, never reaching its home on the Rainbow Stoneship.

One day, a human's body was found on a road. The human was dead. The nearby cities pondered this odd occurrence for quite some time before someone finally said what everyone was thinking.

"It looks like a Dark-type attack did them in!"

The culprit was never found.

Tales of The Great Dusknoir spread across the land like wildfire. Many claimed that the enigmatic Pokemon had an infinite amount of knowledge and almost always seemed to know when something big was going to happen. Pokemon all over saw Dusknoir as a hero.

Dusknoir appeared in the village near where the dead human was found as soon as her heard about the mysterious appearance. Dusknoir saw the human's body and asked to be left alone with it. Those present assumed that Dusknoir had been friends with the human. They couldn't have been farther from the truth, for this was the human that Dusknoir was sent to stop. This was the human whose goal was to prevent the Planet's Paralysis.

You'd think that Dusknoir would have been happy with this development. In truth, Dusknoir felt as though his triumph had been stolen from him. He had wanted to be the one to end the human! He was supposed to be the one to carry out his Master's will!

Dusknoir left the town, now even more motivated to find the human's partner. Rumors were spread about The Great Dusknoir's reaction to the dead human.

Eventually the rumors reached a certain Grass-type's ears.

Not even Grovyle knew exactly what had occurred in the Dimensional Tunnel on that stormy night. All he truly knew was that a Pokemon had attacked him and his partner. He had lost his precious partner, and did not know of their fate. After all, they had agreed to put the mission first. What happened to them was inconsequential, both partners were prepared to die for the possibility of saving the future.

The Pokemon of the town watched as the Grovyle gazed upon the human's corpse. Those present could only watch as the Grovyle broke at the revelation of losing his partner, his only friend in this unfamiliar time. For hours the Grovyle stayed by the human's side, grieving for his fallen partner.

The moment when he had lost his partner in the Dimensional Tunnel replayed in his mind over and over as he left the village and traveled to his first destination, Treeshroud Forest. The thought of his partner dying to save him was almost as strong a driving force as the hope of a future without the collapse of Temporal Tower.

The sun rose. The sun set. Grovyle didn't stop. All he could think of was his partner's smile just before the two had set out to the past.

 _"We're going to save the future together, Grovyle!"_

He had failed them. His partner would never get to witness the rising or setting of the sun. It was his fault that they were killed. He had no right to watch the sunrise. It meant nothing now that they were gone.

The first time gear disappeared. Then the second. Panic spread across the world. What kind of horrible Pokemon was trying to condemn the world?

The third Time Gear was stolen. A name and a face were revealed. A bounty was set.

Dusknoir rallied the explorers, the common Pokemon, and the criminals who feared for their lives. What was the point of escaping the police if they were to die when the final Time Gear was stolen?

The fourth Time Gear was found and stolen. Time grew short. Temporal Tower began to sway. Dusknoir revealed his secret to the masses. Uxie and Mesprit disclosed Azelf's whereabouts.

It was too late. In the time it took Dusknoir to gather, announce, and plan, Grovyle had already taken the fifth and final Time Gear.

Hope seemed to be lost.

Dusknoir realized the next place Grovyle would go would be to the Hidden Land and the Rainbow Stoneship. The Great Dusknoir disappeared, abandoning thousands of hopeless followers. A trap was set at the Rainbow Stoneship, but the key to activating it was miles and miles away.

Time began to stop outside of the dungeons that had lost their Time Gears. Pokemon continued to hunt for Grovyle, believing him to be the one who had caused their beloved Dusknoir to disappear.

The so-called great explorer waited with his minions to catch Grovyle. The hero never arrived. Without the knowledge of Wigglytuff or the wise elder Torkoal, how could he have possibly known anything about the Relic Fragment or how to get to the Hidden Land?

Dusknoir grew impatient. He had not forgotten how victory over the human had been snatched away from him. The phantom boiled in anticipation before leaving, determined to end Grovyle once and for all.

The Pokemon's hero returned to them. Celebrations began. All were convinced that Dusknoir had arrived to stop the Planet's Paralysis from spreading farther than it already had.

Dusknoir sent out a message for his rival in hopes of making the grass type appear.

"Spread the message far and wide! Tell him, 'I killed your partner! I killed the human!'"

How was Grovyle to know any better?

Confrontation. Accusation. Admittance. Battle.

"I did not kill your partner."

"Then why-"

"I should have been the one to carry out Master Dialga's will! The honor of taking the human's life _should have been mine!_ "

Anger blinded the two enemies. Pokemon fled the area as time froze.

Who won, you ask?

It doesn't matter. Either way, the two competitors, tired from the intense duel, were both caught in the disaster.

The emissary carried out his Master's orders, at the expense of his life.

The heroes failed. Far in the future, a hoping spirit waited for any sign of her loved ones' success. She never stopped waiting.

Temporal Tower fell. The planet was paralyzed. The heroes who had died were born what seemed like many years later, and traveled back to the past. And failed.

The human's killer laughed as the fools fell one by one.

The world was drowned in darkness. Darkrai had won.

Nothing changed.

All because a young Bidoof didn't make a wish for a friend.

* * *

Wow, that was heavy. Anyway, all of this is speculation based on a theory I submitted here:  r/MysteryDungeon/comments/526bwl/explorers_of_skys_real_hero_this_is_going_to_blow/

If the link doesn't copy correctly, it can be found on the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon subreddit with the title "Explorers of Sky's REAL Hero (This is going to blow your mind!)"

…. So, does anybody know how to edit titles of discussions on Reddit? Cause I'd love to erase that last part.


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